El Deafo, by Cece Bell

After an illness at age 4, Cece loses her hearing.  She is soon equipped with a hearing aid that involves wearing a pouch around her neck attached to some "ear globs".  Cece is happy to hear again, but now has to learn how to understand once more.  To top things off, Cece now has to go to a new school.

A good thing about the new school is the other kids are wearing hearing aids too, and Cece is learning some useful skills like lip reading and using visual, context and gestural clues to help in understanding.  Cece is just finding her way, when her family decides to leave the city and head to the country, where she will be going to a regular school.

Cece gets a brand-new-BIG-for-school-only-around-the-neck hearing aid (The Phonic Ear) that comes with a microphone for her teacher to wear and is superpowerful.  What nobody expects is that it comes with the added feature of having a super long range, allowing Cece to hear not only her teacher teaching, but whatever her teacher is doing when she is out of the room as well (yes...even *that*!).

Cece has to negotiate the things that all kids go through at school - including navigating a friend who is not-so-nice, and getting her first crush.  Things unique to her situation include dealing with friends who TALK TOO LOUD AND TOO SLOW, and those who refer to her as their "deaf friend".

This is more than a graphic memoir - it is a school and family story for all kids.  Cece is an imaginative and emotional kid with whom readers will identify.  There is an accessibility to Bell's art that immediate draws you in and you can't help but cheer with her successes and cringe with her tears.  Fans of Telgemeier and Varon will readily scoop this up off of the shelves, and it *will* be passed hand to hand.  I am certain I will see many doodles of Cece and her friends in the margins of writer's notebooks this coming school year.  Do yourself a favor...get more than one!

The Quick Fix, by Jack D. Ferraiolo

This is a book I have been meaning to read for quite some time now.  The Big Splash is a book that has a constant and steady flow of readers at our school.  I enjoyed it very much, but somehow I had not gotten around to reading the sequel.  Boy, I'm glad I finally did!

It's only 2 weeks after the end of The Big Splash.  Matt is experiencing a bit of a moment of celebrity himself, and more and more kids are interested in his services.  He is a bit surprised when beautiful cheerleader Melissa Scott, girlfriend of basketball star Will Atkins, want to hire him to follow her famously sporty boyfriend around.  Matt isn't exactly used to dealing with the beautiful cheerleader type, and little does he know that Melissa is just the tip of the iceberg.

Of course, Vinny is still ruling The Frank, and he isn't about to leave Matt's talents untouched.  He too, wants Matt's services and doesn't give him much of a choice about the matter.  Liz, who is pulling away from Matt at this point, accuses him of having a lack of moral compass.  Matt is left wondering if he is any better than Vinny and his thugs.

Throw in some twists and turns of the family mystery, a super twisty path toward a romance, and wrap it all in a noir package and you have The Quick Fix.  And somehow it works.  Readers totally buy into Ferraiolo's world with it's rules and slang.  Kids have pixy stix addictions, water guns seal their fates, basketball games are fixed, and it all makes sense.  There is a sensibility to Ferraiolo's writing that oozes commitment and authenticity.  Kids get this and they enjoy every moment of it.  If you haven't made time to read this one yet, you should.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - The Ugly Truth

So, what was the release date of this book? November 9th or something?  Well, it left our shelf on that day and didn't come back until Friday.  I snagged it and used a couple of commutes to get it read so that I can put it on the shelf to disappear for the next 3 months!

Greg and Rowley are on the outs.  Greg is considering his options for new friends, but he has to face the fact that they are few and far between.  Christopher Brownfield is more of a summer friend (he's really great for keeping mosquitos away!) and Tyson Sanders has a bathroom habit that's hard overlook.

More is changing in Greg's life than just his body (a fact that he can't avoid thanks to  his teacher insisting showers happen after PE and his mother giving him an embarrassing puberty book).  His mother has decided to go back to school.  Since she is not around so much, Greg, his brothers and father are left to fend for themselves for dinner, cleaning and getting ready for school often to disasterous results, as you can imagine.

One of the best segments in the book happens when the school has a lock-in sleep over.  After all of the games and cellphones are confiscated, the fun begins with ice-breaker games, too many chaperones and an incident involving body parts and polaroid cameras! 

There were fewer laugh-out-loud moments in this installment, and Greg isn't really growing too much as a character, however, tweens are still eating up the series.  The vignette style means that readers generally will recognize their lives in the book somewhere, whether it's having to take care of an egg for health class, being locked in at school for a sleepover, or having a parent who goes back to work.  The stories are solidly in tween territory now with issues of friendship, puberty, family and the search for self swirling through the pages.

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, by Barry Deutsch

Readers get a sense of who Mirka is from the very first panel in this charming graphic novel.  While Mirka (who would rather be out fighting dragons) is knitting, her stepmother informs her that she dropped a stitch.  Instead of pulling out her knitting to the dropped stitch and continuing, Mirka argues with Fruma that Hashem must have preordained the dropped stitch, so why should she fix it?  That's Mirka; strong willed, a bit against the grain, and her own girl.

Mirka lives with her family in the Orthodox Jewish community of Hereville.  Expectations are clear, and Mirka and her siblings know what is expected of them.  What is unexpected is the tall, narrow house that Mirka finds in the woods one day.  Mirka brings her brother and sisters back to the house to prove to them it's real, but instead of seeing the floating witch that Mirka insists she saw, all they see is a giant pig that appears when Mirka takes a grape off one of the vines by the house. Mirka has never seen a pig before, and this proves very scary indeed, especially when the pig decides to chase her!

Before she knows it, the pig is pretty much haunting Mirka.  Even though her stepsister tells Mirka just what a pig is, Mirka is convinced that it's a monster and even searches through her forbidden Monster book to find information about it!  Mirka becomes obsessed, insisting that the pig has stolen her homework and decides that she is going to catch it once and for all!  She enlists little brother Zindel and they are soon hatching a plan to catch the pig and to rid Zindel of the bullies that have been tormenting him.

What follows is a wonderful blend of fantasy, quest and a window into the Orthodox Jewish world.  Mirka manages to get what she wants without outright rejecting her culture and faith, but finding ways to work them into her desires.  There is nothing that Mirka loves more than her family, and her quest to have a proper sword proves to be an awakening of sorts on this very topic.  Deutsch's portrayal of the relationships between siblings as well as those between children and parents are completely realistic, and readers will be able to identify with the characters regardless of their faith or their cultural background.

Completely different and refreshing, Hereville will quickly rise to the top of the recommendations that kids give to other kids.

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, by Tom Angleberger

Tommy is just trying to get through sixth grade. He’s not the most popular guy, but he’s not the biggest weirdo either. That particular title belongs to Dwight. Dwight is always doing odd things that aren’t helping his social status; stuff like “barfing in class because he ate thirteen servings of canned peaches as lunch” (p.4), or answering Tommy’s questions simply with the word “purple” over and over again.

Dwight’s latest thing is wearing a origami Yoda finger puppet and doling out advice. Tommy’s not sure what to make of this. On one hand, it’s the kind of odd Dwight behavior that fits Dwight’s profile, on the other hand, some of the advice that’s been handed out has been good advice. Tommy decides along with his buddies Harvey and Kellen to make a case file documenting origami Yoda’s successes and failures so that Tommy knows whether or not to trust origami Yoda with his own big question!

The “files” are all told by the people who asked Yoda for advice in the first place and each segment ends with Harvey’s two cents (he’s kind of like a control since he doesn’t believe in Yoda’s powers at all), and Tommy’s own opinion. Throughout the case file, readers are treated to a full serving of life in middle school, including embarrassing pant stains, pop quiz ethics, Shakespeare bust mysteries, and the ever nerve inducing school dance (renamed “Fun Night” to take the pressure off).

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda is a laugh-out-loud funny read, and captures that same essence of The Diary Wimpy Kid books without trying to imitate them. Tommy is a quintessential middle school kid, and the push-pull of his relationships with Dwight and Harvey will feel familiar to many readers.
The book has equal girl and boy appeal, as the advice that is asked tends to be universally middle school in scope.

If some of you doubt the possibility of a kid pulling off a month of wearing an origami Yoda puppet, I say you just haven’t spent enough time in a middle school. This is exactly the kind of thing that goes on in the cafeteria and hallways.

Fun, fun, fun!

The Popularity Papers: Research for the Social Improvement and General Betterment of Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang

Lydia Goldblatt and Julie Graham-Chang have been friends forever. They are in their last year before middle school, and they know it’s time to take action regarding their popularity. Better stated, their lack of popularity is the real problem. They have watched Lydia’s sister make the transition to middle school and somewhere along the lines she went from a tanned, cute, musical girl to a pale, black-haired, pierced being. To tell the truth, Lydia and Julie are a bit scared of her, and want to make sure that nothing like that happens to them along the way.

But how to get popular? They decide their best course of action is to do some good old-fashioned research by studying the girls who are now popular, and recording their findings in a journal. They divide the work up by having Julie do most of the writing and drawing (since she’s better at both), and having Lydia dictate.

They study the 4 main popular girls: Gretchen (who has the cool blonde streak in her hair), Lisa (who has the expensive cell phone), Jane (the fashionista, theater girl) and Sukie (who they can’t really figure out). Should they dye their hair like Gretchen? Learn to knit or play field hockey like Sukie? Start to like boys?

The girls end up trying various hobbies and interests of the other girls on for size. Is the result popularity? What do you think?

Amy Ignatow has created a super cute scrapbook-style book, that tween readers will eat up. Not only is the format fun, by Ignatow is able to go beyond the format to get at the meaty issues of girl-friendships. There are bossy moments, backstabbing moments and she brings the ebbs and flows of girl-friendship alive on the pages. And Julia's parents just happen to be two dads, which is always a good thing. Ignatow does this with panache, without Julie's family being a big deal, simply a fact.

I read this in arc format (due out 4/10) and I cannot wait to see the final copy. The details even in the arc are stupendous with scotch taped bits, school notes, and hilarious illustrations. I hand sold it to a big reader of mine, and it’s safe to say that The Popularity Papers won’t cross my desk again until every girl (and some of the boys) in her class have read it

Diary of A Wimpy Kid 4: Dog Days

Greg is back and this time he has to survive summer. He has no real problem with summer since he is a self-described “indoor person”. He’s ready to spend his days with the curtains closed playing video games. Unfortunately, his mom has other ideas.

Greg has already spent part of the summer with Rowley at the country club, talking to the ladies and ordering up fruit smoothies. But he got uninvited as soon as he let Rowley’s dad know just what was wrong with the place (like the time the waiter forgot his little umbrella in his smoothie!). Now his mom is trying to convince him to come to the town pool with her and Manny. The problem with the town pool is the showers. You have to walk through them to get to the pool. And they tend to be filled with naked old guys. Greg would rather pass.

Mom’s next big idea is a reading club with all of the neighbourhood guys. When she asks them to bring books they would like to discuss, some of the titles that arrive are: SUDOKU INSANITY, ULTIMATE VIDEO GAME CHEATS, GREEN WASP, AND XTREME POP-UP SHARKS! Greg’s mom deems all of these too violent and suggests some classic titles, like Little Women, The Yearling, Old Yeller, and Anne of Green Gables! Guess how many guys make it to the second meeting?

Jeff Kinney has once again written a laugh-out-loud funny book that appeals to such a broad spectrum of readers. My adult self was laughing out loud as are the tweens that I see reading this. We all have had endless summers that include chores, car trips, and family drama. The vignette style keeps reluctant readers going and voracious ones satisfied. The illustration to text ratio is perfect, and Kinney’s illustrations are spot on as always with my favourites being of Greg in the beauty shop!

Fun, fun, fun.

The Big Splash

Matt is just like any other kid trying to survive Middle School. There is one significant difference between Matt and your average MS-er...he has to avoid his school's make-shift mafia. Vincent "Vinny Biggs" Biggio transformed himself from bully victim, to head honcho of all things illegal at Franklin Middle School. From forged hall passes and doctor's notes, to stolen tests, sport's team betting, and an underground candy market, Vinny is the kingpin. If you cross Vinny, chances are one of his minions will put you in the "Outs". This happens when the person who crossed Vinny ended up with a super-soaker to the crotch. Teasing ensues, and that is the end of the social life for the victim. There is no coming back from the Outs.

Matt has his own little business of being a private detective. He makes it a policy not to do any work for Vinny. He figures if he ever got in, it would be hard to get out without ending up on the Outs. And frankly, Matt doesn't respect Vinny. He sees a kid who used to bully turned into a bully himself. So he is very leery when he is approached by Vinny for a job. He wants Matt to return a trinket to Nicole Finnegan. This is significant because Nicole (Nikki Fingers) Finnegan used to be THE best trigger girl in all of Franklin MS. She put many kids in the Outs. She is also one of the only people to ever leave Vinny's organization without ending up on the Outs. Matt smells a set-up, but he really is at Vinny's mercy. He takes the job.

But when Matt approaches Nicole, the ultimate fantasy of many a Middle Schooler comes true. While her attention is on Matt, Nikki gets a super-soaker blast right between her legs. Someone actually takes her out.

Here is mystery of a lifetime. Who took out Nikki? Was Matt set-up? In the midst of all of this Matt is still trying to figure out why his old best friend Kevin is working for Vinny, and dealing with the affections of both Kevin's sister Liz, and Nikki's sister Jenny.

Jack Ferraiolo has written a rip-roaring good time of a who-done-it. The kids really are in charge, and there is very little adult intervention of any kind. The private-eye slang, and the insular world have sure appeal. Somehow, this Mafia Middle School world is ultimately believable, and very fun to read.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Last Straw

When I ripped open the envelope and reached inside, I only ended up pulling out about a centimeter of the book when a fourth grader exclaimed, "Oooo...Stacy! That's Wimpy Kid 3! Can I have it?" I bargained with him to let me take it home that night and then catalogue it the next day since I knew I'd never get a chance to see it again, until it hopefully gets returned in June!

It's New Years, and Greg thinks that since he is so perfect, he should simply help others keep their own resolutions. Mom is trying to go the gym, Dad is giving up junk food, and Manny is supposedly done with the pacifier. As you can imagine, none of these efforts are too successful, and the family is a little tired of Greg telling them that they are messing up.

From there, readers are back into the daily life of Greg. He's trying to look cool in school, solve the mystery of his teacher's missing dictionary, figure out who is stealing his lunchtime snacks, plan how to call Holly Hills on the telephone, and somehow avoid a summer at Spag Union military academy.

Kinney's trademark style and humour will have readers of all ages laughing aloud at Greg's predicaments. The artwork is priceless (with my favourite being the newspaper clipping of Greg during his soccer game). I think that this is the stand out title in the series so far. One of my students pointed out that there aren't as many cartoons by Greg in this book. I don't have the other two books with me to compare, but even if this is so, the book did not feel like it was lacking. The wide appeal of this book is interesting as well. Younger readers like the idea of the cartoons in the book, and middle schoolers solidly identify with Greg and his family.

Fun!

Diary of A Wimpy Kid - Rodrick Rules

When this FINALLY got checked in at the library last week, I eagerly snatched it up as I knew I wouldn't see it until about May.

"I guess Mom was pretty proud of herself for making me write in that journal last year, because now she went and bought me another." (p.1) And so it begins.

Greg is back, and we start at the beginning of another school year. As with the first installment, each journal entry describes a day in the life of a pretty hilarious family. From Greg's having to wear his brother's hand-me-down Speedo to swim team, to making Chirag the invisible boy, Jeff Kinney certainly has his finger on the pulse of Middle School existence.

So why "Rodrick Rules"? Well, it turns out that Rodrick knows something about Greg that Greg really doesn't want to get out. So now more than ever, Rodrick is in charge. Greg cannot tell on anything! Not even the party when his folks are out of town.

While there is nothing in this second installment that rivals the "cheese touch", it is a read that kid's cannot put down. As I said before, it is constantly checked out of my school library, and my fourth graders have even nominated the first title for their 4th grade book election this year. Perfect for reluctant and avid readers alike.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Okay, okay...I know that I am late to the party on this one. The problem is that this book stayed checked out from the moment we got it in at the library until the last day of school! I finally found it at my local public library, and happily read it in anticipation of #3 coming out this fall.

Greg is just a typical kid trying to make a go of it in middle school. His mom gave him the journal (NOT a diary, thank-you-very-much!), and he figures that it'll save him time when he gets older and famous in that he won't have to explain his upbringing. But before he gets famous, he's stuck negotiating the halls, Hallowe'en, the school play, as well as the world of popularity and girls.

Greg is trying to convince his friend Rowley that it is time to grow up a bit. Why can't Rowley ask him to "hang out" instead of "play"? Especially when they are in the hallway at school. The thing is, as much as Greg's big brother and some of the other kids at school aren't so nice to Greg, Greg is not very nice to Rowley either. He mainly uses him to get to play video games when he is punished. Can their friendship survive middle school?

Filled with funny and gross moments (like the cheese on the playground, and the Big Wheel birthday), Jeff Kinney has certainly struck a chord with readers. The comic style illustrations pepper the pages and add extra doses of humor to the book. I can say with authority that both guys and girls love these quick reads, and I myself cannot wait to finally get my hands on the second one.

There is certainly a lack of books for tweensters with male protagonists, and there is a lack of funny across the board. Diary of a Wimpy Kid fills these holes with panache. Do yourself a favour if you haven't already...buy multiple copies!